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Subject: 
Re: Lugnet can always grow; it's up to us to make it happen.
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.fun
Date: 
Sun, 4 Nov 2001 19:50:22 GMT
Viewed: 
1049 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.fun, Maggie Cambron writes:
In lugnet.off-topic.fun, Dave Low writes:
In lugnet.general, Maggie Cambron writes:
   I rarely can respond to things at such length
  anymore, but it really warranted a kudos.  (Yea, kudos is
  singular, blame the Greeks.)

Okay, Lindsay, I made a special trip from the second floor down to the
basement to check my OED compact edition on this. Are you sure the word takes
an indefinite article?  None of the examples gave any indication that it
does.

I'm pretty sure that it's an abstract noun (so by itself "kudos" should be
article free). But was it okay for Lindsay to break that rule to make his
point clearer?

Heck, I wasn't even sure if he HAD broken a rule.  The dictionary also said it
was a colloquialism, particularly in academia, and since my copy is an edition
last updated in 1974, I figured if anyone was up on the latest on the evolution
of the word it would be Lindsay.

   Not necessarily.  I didn't do it to make the point (which
   would have been wayyy off topic), I did it to imply that I
   was saying kudos.  I think you're right that it's abstract;
   I should have put it in scare quotes, but I dislike them
   enough that I was overcome.  Honest, ociffer!

   I didn't own a dictionary for 28+ years, alas.  I only bought
   one 18 months ago as a "Scrabble court of appeal."

I am not convinced, however, that omission of the article would have made his
point any less clear.

Maggie (who actually agrees with those who say meaning should take precedence
over grammar-- it's just that meaning is often obscured by the use of
unconventional grammar)

   Maybe we should change the thread name to "Lugnet can always
   grow lexicographically?"  :D  I agree too, except that seeing
   something that just looks *wrong* is distracting enough that
   it interferes with our perception of the writer, whether we
   admit it or not.  Bad grammarians can recognize good writing,
   just like good grammarians can; in fact, bad writers are even
   more likely to be persuaded by an argument that is orthographically
   correct, even when it's dead wrong.  (I'll have to look up the
   statistics.  Someone did a study not too long ago and found this out.)

   This may explain why so many people trust governments.  :D

Maggie C. (Queen of living on less-- I got the OED-- the two volume
slip-cased edition with the magnifier in a little drawer-- for 2 bucks from a
garage sale!)

!!!!
...we are not worthy...

: D

   Now I've just gotta ask HOW that came to be?  I can see the
   (unlikely) discussion now:

   Seller: "Oh, yes, those OED volumes are for sale."
   Maggie: "How much do you want for them?"
   Seller: "Two dollars."
   Maggie: "Really?  That's a good preposition.  Are they genuine?"
   Seller: "Oh, yes, they're the definite article."
   Maggie: "Why are you getting rid of them?"
   Seller: "We've decided not to speak English anymore."
   Maggie: "Waarom wil je dat?"  (Not really)
   Seller: "Bad memories.  My uncle was slapped with a nominative
            case.  He hasn't been able to conjugate since."

   (groan)

   apologetically,

   LFB



Message has 2 Replies:
  Re: Lugnet can always grow; it's up to us to make it happen.
 
(...) Indeed it is, and plural would be "kudH" (that's an Eta) but I can't use it in a sentence. Webster's (1968) reports that the English plural is also "kudos". Was it the candy bar that brought in into the mainstream? The word means "glory, fame, (...) (23 years ago, 4-Nov-01, to lugnet.off-topic.fun)
  Re: Lugnet can always grow; it's up to us to make it happen.
 
(...) No need to be apologetic-- that (along with an email in which the writer idly speculates about whether he could get away with burying the women he knows under the porch) is the most amusing stuff I've read all day! Alas, my real-life (...) (23 years ago, 5-Nov-01, to lugnet.off-topic.fun)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Lugnet can always grow; it's up to us to make it happen.
 
(...) Heck, I wasn't even sure if he HAD broken a rule. The dictionary also said it was a colloquialism, particularly in academia, and since my copy is an edition last updated in 1974, I figured if anyone was up on the latest on the evolution of the (...) (23 years ago, 4-Nov-01, to lugnet.off-topic.fun)

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